BMW AG announced that it will be making three new models in China this week, significantly increasing its production in the region. The German carmaker said these new models would increase the number of models it manufactures in the world’s largest auto market to Six from three
, including a new, lower-price model designed specifically for Chinese drivers.
“We are strengthening our focus on meeting the needs and aspirations of our Chinese customers,” Friedrich Eichiner, chief financial officer of BMW, said at a news conference in Beijing.
The carmaker’s two plants in China can currently produce a combined maximum of 300,000 vehicles a year, and the company plans to expand to a 400,000-car capacity over the next two years. BMW produces cars in China with Brilliance Auto, under a partnership agreement which would have expired in 2018, but will now be extended until at least 2028, Eichiner said.